BANGKOK, July 20 (Reuters): More needs to be done to ensure that human traffickers are brought to justice and Rohingya migrants are protected, rights groups said on Thursday, after a trial in which 62 people were convicted of crimes including trafficking and murder. A Bangkok court convicted the 62, including a general, police officers and provincial officials, on Wednesday at the end of Thailand’s biggest ever human-trafficking trial. The trial began in 2015 after the discovery of more than 30 bodies in shallow graves near the Malaysian border in what authorities said was a jungle camp where traffickers held migrants hostage until relatives paid ransom for their release. The discovery led to more than 100 arrests. Many of the dead were believed to be Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar, many of whom seek refuge in mostly Muslim Malaysia. Thailand has not released a full report on the graves or the results of forensic tests. “The trial and convictions was just the first step,” Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. “The government needs to do more beyond this and continue investigations. It should leave no stone unturned.” The court took more than 12 hours to deliver the verdicts which rights groups said showed the government was serious about the problem. The convicted included Myanmar nationals. The longest jail term was 94 years, for Soe Naing, widely known as Anwar, a Rohingya man who police said was a key figure behind the jungle camp where dozens died. ‘MASSIVE OPERATION’ While welcoming the outcome of the trial, rights groups said more needed to be done, both to protect the estimated 5,000 Rohingya in Thailand, and to investigate the smugglers’ camps where many more victims of beatings, disease and starvation are believed to be buried. Police, troops and security volunteers in 2015 did not search hills surrounding the mass grave site, despite evidence from rights groups and media that other graves were dotted along the border. “Thai authorities shouldn’t sweep undiscovered mass graves under the rug of this trial,” Amy Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, said in a statement. “We documented a massive operation that trafficked tens of thousands of Rohingya during a three-year period. The loss of life was significantly more than the focus of this trial.” Weerachon Sukondhapatipak, a government spokesman, said Thailand would press on with investigations. “The government will use the tools at its disposal to solve the trafficking problem,” Weerachon told Reuters.
